Japanese Durga (Juntei Kannon or Chandi)

In Japan, it is held that Juntei Kannon or 'Chandi' is a feminine form of Avalokiteshvara, and revered as the 'Mother of Buddhas.' Alicia Matsunaga states quoting Prof. Goto Daiyu that the Hindu deity Durga might have been a prototype for the bodhisattva in the role of motherhood.' Dr. Ryuken Sawa also mentions that this deity is generally called 'Juntei Butsubo (Chundibhagavati),' or 'Shichigutei-Butsubo (Sanskrit: Saptakotibuddhamatr)' literally meaning the Mother of 70,000 Buddhas.

In the Hanchi-in of the Taizo-kai Mandara, Juntei is portrayed as having eighteen arms, as represented in this work of art. The text Shichigutei-Butsubo-Juntei-Darani-Kyo describes the deity as having eighteen arms and a third eye. Another text Shichigutei-Butsubo-Juntei-Daimyo-Darani-kyo describes that "A girdle is tied around her waist. Of her eighteen arms the two principal ones hold a wish-fulfilling jewel while performing the namaskar mudra. Two other hands perform the abhaya mudra. The other hands hold the following: a flaming sword, a wheel of the Law, a rosary, a fruit, an axe, an elephant goad (ankusa), a vajra and a pendant (Japanese nyo-i hoto) a lotus, a vase, a rope, a ring, a conch shell, and a sutra box."

Chandi was originally a solar deity, Ushas, the goddess of the dawn, or a metamorphosis of the sun. She wears a crown or a high cylindrical (or conical) tiara. She has a gentle expression, and wears a robe covering both shoulders.

References:

Bakshi, D.N. Hindu Divinities in Japanese Buddhist Pantheon, Calcutta, 1979.

Matsunaga, Alicia. The Buddhist Philosophy of Assimilation, Tokyo, 1969.

Sawa, Ryuken (or Takaaki). Art in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (first English tr. by Richard L. Gage), New York and Tokyo, 1972.

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